Sizwe Mxobo has been awarded the Young National Planner of the year award in South Africa. Rashiq Fataar sat down with Sizwe to hear more about his vision for Cape Town, the projects he has been working on and why planning has failed the city and its people.

Sizwe Mxobo has been awarded the Young National Planner of the year award in South Africa. Rashiq Fataar sat down with Sizwe to hear more about his vision for Cape Town, the projects he has been working on and why planning has failed the city and its people.

Future London contributor Jacob Bielecki explores the neighbourhood of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur and discovers a tableau of stark architectural and urban design contrasts which speak to the complexities and contradictions of Malaysia’s urban development.

Capetonians are well known for being immensely proud of our city, often bragging about the fact that Cape Town is leagues above the rest (in several respects, well, it just is). However, before we too hastily polish our halos, it’s time to examine 3 exciting new projects that have taken off elsewhere in the country that Cape Town should be learning from.

Vivien Park writes about the exploration of Berlin as an environment for creating and expanding the infrastructure for cultural exchange. “In the Belly of A Whale,” a documentary by Andreas Lamoth and Frederic Leitzke, provides a close look at the creative gravitational forces of Berlin, where culture producers of many different kinds have found a place.

There’s a limit to the amount of physical change one person or a small group of people can initiate in a city, but what if hundreds of citizens united, each putting in place the projects and changes they want to see in their city all on the same day? That’s the goal of 100en1día (100 in 1 day) – a social movement originating from Bogotá, Colombia, which aims to inspire citizen driven change on a significant scale, transforming cities over a 24 hour period.

A recent lecture by Vanessa Watson of the African Centre for Cities questions how many of the latest master-planning proposals for rapidly developing African Cities are at best fictional renderings of false utopias, and at worst artefacts of a new type of exploitative and damaging property-development.

Recently released public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archive reveals the IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue El. An elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, With first segments of the line opened in Manhattan in 1878 and closed completely after the 1960s, watch this video and take a trip down memory lane.

In the Dynamic Public Spaces Workshop held by the MIT Senseable City Lab, in collaboration with the Austrian Institute of Technology, participants experimented with changing public spaces with the help of image processing, environmental sensors, and social media analysis.

This great little video touches on the idea of placemaking, specifically with opportunities for better “place” in Seattle. The points mentioned are worth noting, and can certainly be applicable to other cities, including Cape Town. At the heart of placemaking is creating places for people to use and interact. One of the people featured in […]

Brett Petzer writes about Jo Noero’s exhibit at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition la Biennale di Venezia. Noero was the only African invited to this prestigious event which runs until 25 November 2012 in Venice, Italy.

How can we create a more liveable city through the effective design, development and management of our public spaces? This was the question posed at the 2012 Central City Partners Forum, attended by Future Cape Town.

Watch the signing of the Host City Agreement between the City of Cape Town and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), officially making Cape Town the World Design Capital for 2014.

In conjunction with our Rio+20 coverage, Future Cape Town looks at the progress of stadia under construction in Brazil in anticipation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Our first report comes from the state capital of Belo Horizonte:
Belo Horizonte: 58% complete

Slated to host six World Cup matches, including one of the semi-finals and the first […]

In May 2012, the Spaza LIving Lab event looked at how temporary urban interventions could possibly change Cape Town, in the lead up to the 2014 Spaza Urban Innovation Festival. The teams visited Philippi and Du Noon, while the Your City Idea voting installation, and Harrington Hollow was showcased in The Fringe.

“Whilst architects have retained their traditional strength of cultural and aesthetic formal considerations, they have lost their numeracy and the ability to demonstrate that architectural intention and performance need not be diametrically opposed concerns, and in a nation which is still largely design illiterate, the price that society pays for ill conceived and overly simplified solutions […]

We were so impressed by these short, simple videos created by Woolworths employees, that we felt that we had to share them with all our readers. Our mission, to Inspire a more liveable City, requires a joint effort from all sectors, societies, organizations and individuals, through dynamic partnerships. These videos by Woolworths are an example […]

How can Water & Sanitation change Africa?
Presented by the Institute for Security Studies and the Pardee Center for International Futures. Read the full publication at the Institute for Security Studies website. Publication: African Futures Policy Brief No 1 – Taps and Toilets
Produced by Cape Town based film production company, Echo Ledge Productions, who are based […]

A video showcasing the proposed expansion plans of the Cape Town International Convention Center.
The winning teams and initial designs for this grand project of the Cape Town foreshore area was announced yesterday, 22 March 2012.
The architecture team features Makeka Design Lab, Van der Merwe Miszewski Architects and Stauch Vorster Architects.

I have always advocated the use of bicycles and others forms of transport to reduced our carbon footprints (well mostly in my head) and to skip trafﬁc. However, I never really bicycled and did the things I was advocating with regards to using other forms of transport.
INSPIRED BY EUROPE
That all changed when I travelled around […]

Upcoming Events

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Experience the best of African creativity at Design Indaba Expo at the CTICC from 27 February to 1 March (Exclusive Buyers Day 26 February 2015). The annual Design Indaba Expo is [...]

Event Details

Experience the best of African creativity at Design Indaba Expo at the CTICC from 27 February to 1 March (Exclusive Buyers Day 26 February 2015). The annual Design Indaba Expo is South Africa’s premier showcase of high-end African design, exhibiting the homegrown wares of all the creative sectors under one roof.

See the website for more information on exhibiting, visiting and buying.

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Cape Town’s central city becomes an arts and culture gold mine until late every first Thursday of the month as dozens of galleries and cultural events stay open to showcase their skills [...]

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Cape Town’s central city becomes an arts and culture gold mine until late every first Thursday of the month as dozens of galleries and cultural events stay open to showcase their skills and talents. Breathe in the fresh night air and absorb the atmosphere as you explore the streets on foot at this free event. To ensure you get the maximum cultural experience, get hold of a map and highlights of what is shown at www.first-thursdays.co.za/ or at your first stop of the night.

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Infecting The City (ITC) is a vibrant and innovative annual public arts festival that takes place in the City of Cape [...]

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Infecting The City (ITC) is a vibrant and innovative annual public arts festival that takes place in the City of Cape Town.

The Festival strives to bring exceptional, socially-engaged performance and visual art out of theatres and galleries and into the communal spaces of Cape Town’s Central Business District – transforming the city centre into an outdoor venue, where art is free and accessible to everyone.

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Future Tyger Creative is a monthly talk for the artists, designers and creative people in our community. Hosted in the [...]

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Future Tyger Creative is a monthly talk for the artists, designers and creative people in our community. Hosted in the heart of Bellville, each session will present a 20 minute talk and the opportunity to engage with interesting speakers and other guests.

What makes Cape Town a liveable city now and what should be done to unlock it's potential
as a progressive city of the future? Encouraging citizens to activate their opinions, Future Cape Town is fast becoming a
united voice that represents the aspirations of the next generation.